Yakumo Katou
is , who is known as http://tokusatsunetwork.com/2014/12/22/latest-televi-kun-scans-reveal-new-ninninger-details/, the Blue Ranger of the Ninningers. He is mostly nicknamed as by Fuuka and Nagi. Biography One of Yoshitaka Igasaki's successors, Yakumo was one of his grandchildren chosen to become the Ninningers. He was called by Tsumuji Igasaki, his uncle and Takaharu and Fuuka's father to return to Japan. After reunited with the other Ninninger candidates, Tsumuji leads them to Gengetsu Kibaoni's resting place, which was sealed by Yoshitaka until the Sealing Shuriken were released by the revived Gengetsu and wandered off to various part of the city. After the Ninningers destroy Youkai Kamaitachi, it grew large and they received five OtomoNin Shuriken, which they used to form Shurikenjin and finished the Youkai. Yoshitaka revealed himself to be much alive, but lectured them for their inexperience and lead them to their new dojo that they will use as their new base. In the end, Yakumo was forced to abandon his magic training from England to take the mantle of AoNinger. During the hottest point in summer, the boys decided to play a prank on the girls after Nagi overheard Kasumi confide in Fuuka that she was afraid of ghosts, with Yakumo only agreeing after being accused of being scared of KAsumi. Luring the two to an abandoned building which they claimed to be haunted possibly due to a Yokai, they proceeded to put on spooky costumes, with Yakumo dressing as a fallen soldier. Pulling their prank, they were confused to see only a spooked Fuuka run out, especially due to her claiming to see a 'lady ghost' which they did not account for. Takaharu headed back for Kasumi, followed by Yakumo and Kinji. With no word, Nagi and Fuuka found they had been frozen by the Yokai Yuki-Onna, with Fuuka soon following suit. Left alone, Nagi managed to conjure some heat as Kasumi revealed herself having used a decoy, luring the Yokai into a trap. Yakumo and the others were thawed by a Fire technique as the Ninningers proceeded to defeat Yuki-Onna. When Fuuka was scouted by a producer for his new movie featuring the popular actor SILVER as Dracula, the Ninningers, suspecting the Western Yokai Dracula was involved, went undercover and accompanied Fuuka to her audition, with Yakumo and Nagi disguising themselves as potential actresses alongside Kasumi. Along with all the other candidates bar Fuuka; Yakumo, Nagi then Kasumi as well fall victim to Dracula's bite, putting them into a deep sleep allowing him to harvest human fear through induced nightmares. Yakumo and the others soon wake up when their life energy is returned following Dracula's defeat by Fuuka, Takaharu and Kinji. Yakumo, Nagi, and Kasumi then board their OtomoNin to get back at Dracula, pushing him back enough for Takaharu to destroy the enlarged Western Yokai. When Yoshitaka announced the mid-point results of the Last Ninja race, Yakumo was disappointed to learn that he had only made second-from-last at 5th. In reality, however, "grandad" was actually Nekomata's doppelganger Yokai Mataneko in disguise, who intended to get revenge against the Ninningers by breaking them up, hosting a lightning quiz round when the initial results failed. After the Ninningers noticed signs that something was amiss, Kasumi fetched a second Yoshitaka, exposing the first as a fake via catnip. The Ninningers then transformed to fight him, with Takaharu as AkaNininger Chozetsu defeating Mataneko with Shinobimaru after being accidentally enlarged alongside the Yokai. Afterwards, at the request of his grandchildren, Yoshitaka gave his true mid-point results, stating that they were all still at the starting line, with this news only giving them a strengthened resolve to continue training. Finding Takaharu bringing a girl to the house, Yakumo along with Nagi, Kasumi and Kinji, discussed this new development while eavesdropping on the two, wondering what Fuuka would make of her brother having a girlfriend. Inadvertently revealing themselves when Fuuka arrived, it turned out that Takaharu's 'girlfriend', Kikyo Kousaka, was an old friend of his from his days travelling while training as a ninja, having returned due to the opening of a new ninja school by the ninja master Kiroku Ise, where she was to instruct new students. This intriuged the Ninningers, with Yakumo sneaking into the school with Kasumi and Kinji, they learned that Kiroku was involved with the Kibaoni Army following a skirmish with Masakage Tsugomori, warning Takaharu who came to confront him personally. Yakumo and the others later helped the students escape from the school before saving Takaharu, Kikyo and Kiroku from Puppet Ninja Kuroari who had been manipulating Kiroku, with the Ninningers proceeding to defeat the dark ninja. After Takaharu said goodbye to Kikyo, the Ninningers were amused that he misunderstood what Kikyo meant by wondering what they would be when they next met, assuring him that he didn't have to worry about it yet. Personality Yakumo has lived most of his life abroad and was learning European magic in England when he was called back. He is the rich boy type with a cool demeanor and somewhat presumptuous. In contrast, however, he has a quick temper and can be a bit of a bonehead at times.http://tokusatsunetwork.com/2015/01/22/ninninger-profiles-messages-cast/ Out of his cousins/Ninningers, Yakumo is a quick-learner and can master ninjutsu quickly than the others, claiming it easier than magic. Yakumo at first had no interest in Ninjutsu, claiming it easier than magic training. This was however until when he was lectured by Takaharu/AkaNinger and had developed a rivalry with him, he decided to compete with the others to inherit his grandfather's title as the Last Ninja. Thanks to his tactical mind and maturity, he is more level-headed than his cousin Takaharu, and as such can be seen as the unofficial leader of his Sentai team. Family *Harukaze Katou - Mother **Yoshitaka Igasaki - Grandfather *Tsumuji Igasaki - Uncle **Takaharu Igasaki - Cousin **Fuuka Igasaki - Cousin *Nagi Matsuo - Cousin *Kasumi Momochi - Cousin Powers and Abilities ;Ninjutsu Expertise : Being trained to be a ninja for many years, he is skilled in ninjutsu and Shuriken Ninja Arts. :;Enhanced Reflexes ::Since Yakumo as well is a trained ninja, his body reflexes also maximized. :;Body Flicker ::He was able to move at an almost untraceable speed in a puff of smoke. :;Body Replacement ::He is able to put a straw dummy in his place to fool his enemies. ;Magic Expertise :As a student of a unnamed wizarding school in England, he has shown many skills of magic. Yakumo notes that magic wears off over time meaning that, such as in the case of his transformation spells, they are only temporary. :;Fire Manipulation ::He was able to create a fire and shape it into a small dragon with his wand. When imbued it with AkaNinger with his Shuriken Ninpo-fuelled Flame Technique, it turns him into a giant fire dragon that attacks his target. :;Levitation ::He was able to use his wand to levitate himself and fly around. :; ::Forces the target to reveal what information Yakumo wanted to know. :; ::Creates mirror as a defensive shield against magic-themed attacks. :; ::Turns Dragomaru into its kite-riding formation. :; ::Revert the kite-riding Dragomaru back to its dragon formation. :; ::Creates a cyclone as an attack. :; ::Changes the target into a Tanuki statue, accidentally used on Tsumuji Igasaki. :; ::Revert the spells that affected the target to normal, used to reverse Tsumuji's aforementioned Tanuki transformation. :; ::Changes the target into a plush white dog toy reminsicent of Wanmaru, used on Fuuka. :; ::Changes the target into a dump truck toy reminiscent of Dumpmaru, used on Nagi. :; ::Changes the target into a toy guitar, used on Kinji. :; ::Changes the target into a doll, used to turn Kasumi and Takaharu into a pink girl doll and an AkaNinger figurine respectively. :; ::Changes the target into a blue dragon toy reminiscent of Dragomaru, used on himself. AoNinger Arsenal *Nin Shuriken **'AoNinger Shuriken' **'OtomoNin Shuriken: Blue' *Ninja Ichibantou *Gama Gama Gun *Ninnin Buckle *Karakuri Hengen Mecha *OtomoNin Dragomaru *OtomoNin Seiryuumaru Behind the scenes Portrayal Yakumo Katou is portrayed by . As AoNinger, his suit actor is . Etymology Yakumo's family name is based on , a famed 16th century ninja master during the who was also known as . Notes *AoNinger is the first Blue Ninja Ranger with a standard blue color in a core team. The rest have been either light blue (NinjaBlue and HurricaneBlue) or navy blue (KuwagaRaiger). *He is the second blue ranger to have the Japanese translation of blue in his name following Aorenger. *His nickname, Cloud, is a pun of his original first name, Yakumo, from the kanji . *Yakumo is the second blue ranger in a core team to have a dragon themed main mech, with the first being Ryunosuke Ikenami (Shinken Blue). *Yakumo is similar to , the protagonist of , who is also a wizard who had to abandon his dream of becoming a pro soccer player to fight . *Yakumo's magics (as well as the ones that used by other characters) are simply reversed Japanese words. This make him similar to DC Comic superhero Zatanna, whose spells were reversed normal sentences. *The unnamed magic school in England he attended is most likely a reference to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from Harry Potter. *Yakumo's use of magic could possibly be a tribute to ''Mahou Sentai Magirange''r, a magic based sentai that aired exactly 10 years prior. References Category:Sentai Blue Category:Ninningers Category:Sentai Male Rangers Category:Sentai Ninja-themed Rangers Category:Sentai Rival Archetype Category:Sentai second-in-command Category:Igasaki Clan